Wednesday, December 16, 2015

With the
time for a decision drawing nearer, Woodford County residents are raising much
debate over a proposed bypass around the west side of Versailles. A majority of
resident feedback has been negative, calling the bypass a waste of money and a
threat to the peace and safety of Midway and even to the county's agricultural economy.

The proposed road, officially named the Northwest Versailles
Mobility Corridor, would extend Falling Springs Boulevard around the west side
of Versailles to U.S. 60 northwest of town. The current state road plan says the
project would cost $39 million, including $2 million for design, $5 million for
buying rights of way, $2 million for utilities relocation, and $30 million for
actual construction.

Many
county residents fear the project will cost them more than just their share of
the dollar amount. In a letter to the
Lexington Herald-Leader, Woodford County resident Dan Rosenburg called the
bypass a “waste” and said it would “destroy valuable agricultural land that is
the basis of Woodford County’s economy.” Versailles resident James Nicholson
likened the pricey attempt to alleviate traffic to killing “a fly with a sledge
hammer” in his letter to The Woodford Sun.

Midway
residents have an added worry. Because the bypass would lead directly or
indirectly to US 62, Midway Road, their concern is about added traffic to the
downtown area. Drivers using the bypass for quick access to Interstate 64 could
clog up traffic on the narrow road with poor shoulders.

Until
recently, Midway residents were under the belief that the weight limit for
Midway Road would be lowered from 80,000 to 62,000 pounds under a new order of
the state Transportation Cabinet. A lower weight limit means fewer trucks
and less danger. It turns out, according
to the Sun, that the order does not in fact lower the weight limit due to it being
a federal highway within 15 miles of an interstate. Midway residents were
convinced the order was a done deal and many, including Mayor Grayson
Vandegrift, saw it as an act to appease those fighting the bypass.

At the project’s citizens advisory committee Nov. 19, Arrell
Thompson, consultant for the Burgess & Niple engineering firm, announced
that 75 percent of public comments received about the bypass said the road
shouldn’t be built.

The public comments were on an online survey and a paper
submitted at a meeting in Versailles in October. The numbers were almost the
reverse from a similar survey taken in 2010 by the county Planning Commission
and Economic Development Authority. In that survey, nearly 73 percent of
respondents wanted the bypass completed and 60 percent believed downtown
Versailles traffic was a problem.

The three alternate routes chosen by the project managers
would all go west of the Osram Sylvania plant then tie into U.S. 60. The most
supported alternative route, Alternative B, would connect to U.S. 60 near its
current intersection with U.S. 62. The others would end at Midway Road and
farther up U.S. 60.

Rob Sprague, project engineer for the state Department of
Highways, said at the citizen advisory committee meeting that he believes there
is a silent majority in favor of the project.

Sprague told the Messenger recently, “We should be able to recommend
an alignment within the next couple of months and we should know the funding
schedule in April,” after the legislature revises the state road plan.

Versailles Mayor Brian Traugott is another leading proponent
of the new road. In a letter to the Sun, he said the bypass would relieve a
large amount of traffic from downtown Versailles and “would make downtown a
more attractive area to visit.” He also addressed the concern over Midway Road,
suggesting a lower speed limit, wider shoulders or reconstructing the road
would address safety concerns.

Some opponents have said no study has supported construction
of the road, but one letter writer cited the results of study issued in May
1999 by the Wilbur Smith Associates Consulting Engineers and Planners, which
recommend the construction of a four-lane connector highway between U.S. 60 and
U.S. 62 in order to relieve traffic in Versailles.

Woodford County residents and officials are not the only ones who have
spoken out about the controversial project. The controversy has even spread as far as Lexington. There have been multiple letters about the
bypass in the Herald-Leader and even an editorial. Herald-Leader cartoonist
Joel Pett addressed the controversy in his Nov. 28 cartoon, which depicted the
road as a connector between money and politics. The family of former state Rep.
Joe Barrows owns property on the alternate route closest to Versailles.

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News in and around the small but surprisingly interesting town of Midway, Ky., reported, written and photographed by students in community journalism classes in the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media, taught by Associate Extension Professor Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues,www.RuralJournalism.org.